Aaron, (flourished 14th century bce), the traditional founder and head of the Israelitepriesthood, who, with his brother Moses, led the Israelites out of Egypt. The figure of Aaron as it is now found in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, is built up from several sources of traditions. In the Talmud and Midrash (Jewish commentative and interpretive writings), he is seen as the leading personality at the side of Moses. He has appeared in different roles in Christian tradition.

Life

Aaron is described in the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) as a son of Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi, three years older than his brother Moses. He acted together with his brother in the desperate situation of the Israelites in Egypt and took an active part in the Exodus, their liberation from bondage there. Although Moses was the actual leader, Aaron acted as his “mouth.” The two brothers went to the pharaoh together, and it was Aaron who told him to let the people of Israel go, using his magic rod in order to show the might of YHWH (God). When the pharaoh finally decided to release the people, YHWH gave the important ordinance of the Passover, the annual ritual remembrance of the Exodus, to Aaron and Moses. But Moses alone went up on Mount Sinai, and he alone was allowed to come near to YHWH. Moses later was ordered to “bring near” Aaron and his sons, and they were anointed and consecrated to be priests “by a perpetual statute.” Aaron’s sons were to take over the priestly garments after him. Aaron is not represented as wholly blameless. It was he who, when Moses was delayed on Mount Sinai, made the golden calf that was idolatrously worshiped by the people.

Adoration of the Golden Calf, oil on canvas by Nicolas Poussin, …

National Gallery Collection; By kind permission of the Trustees of the National Gallery, London/Corbis

Once a year, on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Aaron was allowed to come into the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the tabernacle, or sanctuary, in which the Hebrew tribes worshiped, bringing his offering. Together with his sister, Miriam, Aaron spoke against Moses because he had married a foreigner (a woman from Kush, the southern portion of Nubia); but, as in the episode of the golden calf, the narrative tells how Aaron was merely reproved, though Miriam was punished, for the offense. In the rebellion of Korah the Levite, however, Aaron stood firmly at the side of Moses. According to Numbers 20, Aaron died on the top of Mount Hor at the age of 123; in Deuteronomy 10, which represents another tradition, he is said to have died in Moserah and was buried there.

Aaron is a central figure in the traditions about the Exodus, though his role varies in importance. At the beginning he seems to be coequal with Moses, but after the march out of Egypt he is only a shadow at Moses’ side. Moses is obviously the leading figure in the tradition, but it is also clear that he is pictured as delegating his authority in all priestly and cultic matters to Aaron and “his sons.”

Aaron and the biblical critics

Scholars have long been aware that the figure of Aaron as it is now found in the Pentateuch is built up from several sources or layers of traditions. According to Julius Wellhausen, a German biblical scholar, and his followers, the Yahwist source was the oldest one, followed in order by the Elohist, the Deuteronomist, and the Priestly code. Scholars have attributed the passages about Aaron to one or the other of these sources. Although their results differ, they do agree in ascribing about 90 percent of the material about Aaron to the Priestly source. According to Wellhausen, Aaron was not mentioned at all in the Yahwist narrative, but he may have been inserted by later redactors.

Other scholars, such as Sigmund Mowinckel, believe that the narrative about the golden calf, which presents Aaron in an unfavourable light, was part of the ancient tradition in the Yahwist work, being the only passage in it that mentions him. This narrative, according to these scholars, originally came from the northern kingdom of Israel and described Aaron as the ancestor of the priests in northern Israel; later it was rewritten in a way defamatory to Aaron. But there are also features in the narrative that may indicate that a later source (or traditionist), the Elohist, tried to excuse Aaron and to put the main responsibility on the people. The Elohist narrator was credited with making Aaron the brother and helper of Moses, who stood at the side of Moses in the conflict with the pharaoh and assisted him as a leader in battles and in the cult. It may also be the Elohist who provides the unfavourable story about Aaron’s objection to Moses’ wife. On the other hand, it seems to be the same narrator who mentions Aaron at the side of Moses in the revolt at Meribah, but here also Aaron, together with Moses, is actually reproached. There is reason to believe that Aaron was not mentioned in the Deuteronomist work by the original author but that his name has been added by a redactor. The main bulk of the traditions about Aaron and the frequent addition of “and Aaron” after the mention of Moses are found in the Priestly source, which was written at a time when the priests had a more dominant position in Judah than they had before the exile. By then Moses had ceased to be the hero of the priests, and Aaron had taken over that role.

Many modern scholars speak of traditions where their predecessors spoke of sources, but, apart from this terminology, the view concerning Aaron has not greatly changed. There have been new attempts, however, to see the contrasting figures of Moses and Aaron in a new light. It has been suggested that the traditions about Moses represent a southern Judaean tradition, while the old traditions about Aaron originated in the northern kingdom. It has also been indicated that the traditions about Moses are primarily concerned with a prophet, while those about Aaron are connected with priesthood. There may be a kernel of truth in all these suggestions, as also in the theory of Ivan Engnell that Moses represents the royal ideology while Aaron stands for priesthood, and priesthood alone. The standing struggle between the king and the leading priests is reflected both in the laws and in the narratives of the historical books.

Aaron in later Jewish and Christian thought

Aaron continued to live as a symbol in Jewish religion and traditions, and the position of the priests was strengthened after the exile. Also, in the Qumrān sect, a Jewish community that flourished in the era just before and contemporary with the birth of Christianity, Aaron was a symbol for a strong priesthood, as can be seen from the Dead Sea Scrolls. At the end of time, men of the community should be set apart, as a select group in the service of Aaron. Only the sons of Aaron should “administer judgment and wealth,” and, according to the Manual of Discipline, two messiahs were expected, one of Aaron, the priestly one, and one of Israel. According to a fragment found near Qumrān, the priest would have the first seat in the banquets in the last days and bless the bread before the messiah of Israel. Here “the sons of Aaron” have the highest position.

In Talmud and Midrash, Aaron is seen less as a symbol than as the leading personality at the side of Moses. The relationship between the two brothers is painted as prototypical in the Haggada (“Narrative”—the nonlegal parts of Talmud and Midrash). Rabbi Hillel, the great liberal sage, praised Aaron as peace-loving, a man of goodwill, who wanted to teach his people the Torah (“Law” or “Teaching”; also another name for the Pentateuch).

In Jewish exegesis little is said about him, though he is mentioned as a man who created peace among men. Many attempts have been made to explain Aaron’s participation in the episode of the golden calf. According to some exegetes, Aaron had to make the calf in order to avoid being killed. In the 11th century, the French commentator Rashi contended that the calf was a symbol of the leader, Moses, who was at that time on the mountain. The relationship between Moses and Aaron is also discussed in the Talmud. Some traditionists have wondered why Aaron, and not Moses, was appointed high priest. The answer has been found in an indication that Moses was rejected because of his original unwillingness when he was called by God. It also seems to have been hard for some traditionists to accept that Aaron was described as older than Moses. The death of Aaron is related in the Midrash Petirat Aharon.

The first Christian communities admitted that Aaron, “the sons of Aaron,” or “the order of Aaron” constituted symbols of the highest priesthood. But in the Letter to the Hebrews, Christ is described as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, which was set against “the order of Aaron.” Of the Church Fathers, St. Cyril of Alexandria says that Aaron was divinely called to a priesthood and that he was a type of Christ. St. Gregory I translates the name Aaron as “mountain of strength” and sees in him a redeemer who mediated between God and man.